Crews demolish ‘Upper Room’ sculpture by artist Ned Smyth for controversial Battery Park City resiliency plan

A towering sculpture that has graced Battery Park City’s waterfront for nearly four decades is being ripped down to make way for the ritzy nabe’s controversial resiliency plan — and the artist who built the beloved work is distraught over its loss. Crews on Wednesday began demolishing “Upper Room” by artist Ned Smyth — previously appraised by the Battery Park City Authority at $1.5 million — to access the ground beneath that will soon become a tidal gate.